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Lana and Rusev Say They Were Removed From Total Divas Because The Demo Didn’t Like Them

February 12, 2019 | Posted by Joseph Lee

In an interview with Lilian Garcia’s Chasing Glory podcast (via Wrestling Inc), Lana and Rusev revealed that they were removed from Total Divas because the demographic actually didn’t like them, due to what Lana claims was the way their footage was edited. Here are highlights:

On their removal from the show: “When I first was told [that we would no longer be on Total Divas], Kevin Dunn is so great, and we were basically told that we were a shoo-in and that we were incredible on this season. I was told that he loved me, that Murray, which is the production company who produces the show, loves me, WWE loves me, WWE loves us, that we should be working on our spin-off show. So that was like, oh, we’re doing it. And then, apparently, they had a meeting with the E [Network] executives, and there’s a whole bunch of new E! executives now, and when Kevin Dunn told me that E! Executives took a poll and we are strongly disliked by the E! demographic. They do not like us, and that, basically, I’m hated, we’re hated, and the E! executives thought our stories were very slapstick. They were a strong no. The executives were a strong no. I was shocked.”

On the editing of the show: “A lot of stuff has to do with edit, too. There’s so many things in edit that I was royally screwed over, and they could take someone saying something from this scene and put it there. In edit, they can do whatever they want and that’s out of your control. If they want to make me look more annoying, if I need to play that annoying girl, they’ll do that. There are some things that I got really mad about. But, ya know, I understand that that’s what I signed up for, and I also understand that when you sign up for reality TV, you have to be ready to not be perfect. That’s fine, but don’t screw me over when you go, oh, all of a sudden you’re not liked, and it’s because your editors are doing that. Literally, there would be times where they put different phrases and put them here, and I was like, ‘That wasn’t even the situation!’ Or, like, the huge fight with Paige. That was edited like, whoa, not really what happened.”

article topics :

Lana, Total Divas, Joseph Lee